Tag: price of wearables

Recent research has revealed that while wearables are drawing interest, most won’t pay over $300 for them.

It is becoming increasingly difficult to find an electronics and mobile devices maker that has not come up with its own version of wearable technology, but while recent studies have shown that many consumers are very interested in this tech, the price tag is creating a barrier to adoption.

Wearables are coming out in the form of everything from smartwatches to clothing, glasses, jewelry, and more.

Despite the fact that there are many different offerings within the wearable technology category, it is clearly an industry that remains in its infancy as companies have not yet come up with the strategy that will ensure that the majority consumers will be willing to buy these devices and like them enough that they will be willing to replace them as new generations of wearables are released. A recent PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) study has provided considerable insight into this struggle.

The research asked 1,000 consumers in the United States about their opinions with regards to wearable technology.

What it showed was that many Americans do already have one of these devices, at least in some form, and that they have high hopes with regards to their benefits. The data showed that around one in five people in the U.S. currently has some type of wearable technology device, such as a wrist band or a digital pedometer that will connect with their computers or smartphones.

That said, a surprising 56 percent of the people who took part in the PwC study also felt that these mobile gadgets (more specifically, those that allow for bio-feedback such as fitness trackers, sleep trackers, and those that monitor heart rate) will help a person to boost his or her life expectancy by a decade. Equally, just under 42 percent of the participants believed that wearables could help an individual to boost his or her athletic ability and overall fitness level.

That said, while 21 percent of the participants actually own some form of wearable technology device, only 10 percent of the total respondents actually use their gadget on a daily basis. Moreover, there is a price limit to the amount that they would spend. Only 5 percent said that they would be willing to pay $300 for a device in this category, while even fewer – 4 percent – said that they would be willing to pay $500. Only time will reveal whether or not the $349 price tag of the Apple Watch will make that product cost prohibitive.

A new report has shown that 70 percent of wearables can be purchased for under that amount.

According to recent news, wearable technology devices can be purchased for under $300 in the majority of cases, depending on what it is, the brand, its capabilities, and so on.

The research was published in the Q1 2014 Wearable Market Insights Report by Vandrico.

Vandrico is a company based in Vancouver, Canada, which is rapidly joining the top resources within the wearable technology space. This firm launched a massive research effort in February, which resulted in the most comprehensive wearables database that is currently available online. Using the data from that source, it was able to provide forecasts and insights in this new sector of the mobile tech industry.

It showed that there has been a growth of wearable technology search queries of 588 percent in one year.

This was the case on Google, alone. The database at Vandrico currently includes 193 different wearables. This is an increase from having had a total of 115 only three months ago. Clearly the shelves are filling quickly in this sector.

Among the points that Vandrico found to be quite notable was that in 70 percent of the devices, the price tag is less than $300. The most common price range was somewhere between $100 and $250. This makes many of the devices quite affordable for the majority of consumers.

Among the notable success stories that were identified are the Fitbit Flex, which currently retails for $99.99, as well as a growing number of smartwatches, primarily the Pebble, which retails for $149.99 at the moment.

Interestingly there is a noticeable gap between the lower price range wearables (under $300) and those that are in higher price ranges. The next price range ends at about $550, but then there isn’t much until the $1,000 mark has been passed. It is in that bracket that the Meta, Vuzix, and the Google Glass are categorized.

As is the case among other product categories, Vandrico underscored the point that wearable technology product complexity, quality, and pricing all play a notable role in the decisions that consumers make in terms of making a purchase.